in this world and the next
by BassFriday
Summary: Post the 'Invasion' storyline. The portal that Kara believes will bring her home to Earth-38, takes her to another universe entirely. A universe where Supergirl doesn't exist and Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor are an item.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** It may seem a little confusing or like there are pieces missing, but I'm trying to not reveal everything at once, so you guys can realize what's going on, around the same time as Kara. Would love to hear what you think about it!

* * *

The portal in front of her looked like an all consuming vortex, that Kara would have been a little scared to go through, if she hadn't already done it once before with Barry and Cisco. In truth, she couldn't wait to get back to Earth-38, to her own universe. She had been gone for a couple of days, and she was both curious and worried about whether or not the passing of time was the same on Earth-1, or if she would return home and find out she'd been gone for far longer.

At least she had had the time to leave a note for Alex before she'd left, explaining where she'd gone, so her sister wouldn't have a panic attack and think she'd been kidnapped. A smile lit up her face as she thought about what was waiting for her on the other side of the portal. Rao, she missed Alex and she couldn't wait to spend a girl's night with her, in front of the TV with a bunch of take-out food and an enormous amount of potstickers. She thought about Winn too, and how amazed he would be when she told him, that she had actually visited another world - it would blow his nerd brain.

And then her mind turned to someone else entirely; someone who had called the police on their own mother, and singlehandedly saved every alien on earth, including Kara. Yes, she really needed to talk to Lena, and thank her for all she had done. Before that though, she'd have to come up with a good explanation for why Kara Danvers had not visited the Luthor since the incident.

Turning around, she smiled at her new and old interdimensional friends, before she took a deep breath and entered the portal.

Interdimensional travel was weird to say the least; it felt like her entire being was folding in on itself and she couldn't breathe for several seconds. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the feeling stopped and air returned to her lungs. A gentle warmth hit her skin, and even before she opened her eyes, she could hear the familiar sounds of National City.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she took in the familiar surroundings of Earth-38. The city seemed just like she had left it; the streets were buzzing with life, and in the distance she saw Catco tower, glinting in the sun. The sight of it brought a smile to her lips, she was glad to see that the world hadn't gone under while she was gone, perhaps J'oon had even acted as Supergirl and kept up the peace.

As if the city knew she had just returned, she heard several cries for help close to where she was. Hovering above the town for a moment, she gathered her bearings and took off in the direction the screams called her to. Closing in on the scene, she heard the sound of a gun firing, and scanned the store below her to see what was going on. Inside the building she saw a person waving a gun around in front of six other people; customers who were being held at gunpoint.

Flying into the building, Kara managed to disarm the robber before he even knew what was going on. After securing the man to a chair for the police, she turned towards the six citizens she had saved, and x-rayed them to make sure none of them had been hurt. The people in front of her were surprisingly silent and most of them had their mouth open in shock - not that Kara wanted them to, but usually people cheered or thanked her. A couple of them had their phones out, and so before she took off, the blonde gave them a wave and a smile, before she flew out the way she came in.

 _Okay_ , Kara thought, she needed to figure out what to do; she hadn't brought her keys or phone to Earth-1, so both of them would be locked up in her apartment, where she couldn't get to them, unless she decided to break in. Almost flying past Catco, she decided to see James, who she had given a key to her apartment for emergencies.

She landed outside the office that had once been Cat Grant's, but was now her friend's. James wasn't in the room, but neither was anybody else so she quietly entered. The many TV's behind the desk told her that it was 13.17, so perhaps he was out for a late lunch. Sighing, Kara thought about going out to Winn, who'd probably know where their friend was, but she couldn't very well go out there dressed as Supergirl.

Glancing around the office, she saw a hoodie slung over one of the couches, that she assumed was James'. Thinking quickly, she grabbed it and pulled it over the S on her chest. Using the hair band that had been on her wrist for _days_ , she tied her hair up in a ponytail that practically screamed Kara Danvers and looked at her reflection in the windows that surrounded the office.

It _could_ work, she decided, the hoodie covered the most recognizable part of her Supergirl outfit, and the ponytail certainly helped, but her tights were still noticeably blue and very un-Kara Danvers-like. Perhaps her glasses would seal the deal, but she doubted James had any of those lying around.

Deciding that it wouldn't get better than that, she turned towards the door to track down Winn, but stopped in her tracks when she saw James there. "Kara!" he exclaimed, looking surprised to see her.

"James! You are not going to believe where I've been!" She started, happy to see her friend.

"I sure hope I do!" He said, sounding uncharacteristically angry, "You better have a good explanation for where you've been! Alex is seconds away from calling you in as missing, not to mention that L-"

"Oh, do you know where Alex is?" Kara interrupted him excitedly, looking forward to seeing her sister. "I think I left my phone and keys at my apartment before I left, so I can't call her."

James sighed and shook his head, "Yeah, they're in one of the conference rooms, I'll tell her and the missus that you're here." Kara frowned at her friends retreating back, _what did he mean by the missus_ , but shook off her confusion and went back to looking out the windows.

The majority of National City's skyline could be seen from the office, and Kara found that her eyes were drawn to one building in particular, L-corp. She looked at the very top of the building, imagining Le-. _Wait, hold on_ , she thought and took a closer look at the building's very top.

Why did the sign say Luthorcorp, instead of L-corp? Had Lena decided to change back the name of the company, while Kara had been away? She'd have to ask her friend about that the next time they met, she decided and moved away from the windows.

The sound of feet running in the hallway, made her look up just as none other than Lena Luthor barged through the office door. Without slowing down, the dark-haired woman ran straight towards Kara and threw herself against the superhero.

Kara blinked in surprise, feeling a little confused by the Luthor's show of affection. Sure, she had wanted to see Lena and thank her for all she had done, but she could only remember them ever having hugged twice before.

"Lena-" Kara started, trying to think of a polite way to ask her why she was even at Catco. Before she could come up with something though, the other woman had released her hold on her slightly and put their lips together in a kiss.

It was like getting shocked; it felt like every cell in the superhero was vibrating. But in reality Kara's entire body, including her lips, had completely frozen in place as if the action had somehow short-circuited her brain, and left her with a single thought: _Lena Luther was kissing her_. Like, her lips, were on Kara's.

They were just as quickly gone as Lena went back to hugging her so tightly, that even the superhero, whose body was practically made of steel, felt like the action was leaving her with bruises. Kara found that Lena's right cheek was pressed impossibly close to her own, and the scent of the other woman's lavender shampoo was all the superhero could focus on.

Seeing movement in the corner of her eye, Kara notices Alex standing there, and promptly turns completely red at the thought that her sister might have seen the kiss between her and the CEO.

Then Lena suddenly tears herself away from Kara so abruptly, that the blonde almost loses her balance. "Where have you been Kara?" The Luthor demands, her voice trembling slightly as if she's seconds away from crying. " Do. You. Have. Any. Idea. What. You've. Put. Me. Through?" Every word is followed by a light smack to Kara's shoulders.

The superhero looks towards her adoptive sister who has situated herself just behind the dark-haired woman, almost as if in support of her. Alex' facial expressions switch rapidly between looking pissed, amused and most of all relieved. There is too much happening all at once, and the blonde can feel the beginnings of a headache already.

Kara catches Lena's wrists gently in her hands, and just holds them there for a couple of seconds, while she tries to figure out what the hell is going on. _Okay_ , she says to herself, _Alex is obviously mad that I went away, I expected that. But why is Lena here? And why did she kiss me?_

Rao, she wants to ask Lena that more than anything else, but that would just be a _tad bit_ awkward with her sister right there, so instead the question that makes its' way out of her mouth is; "When did you rename L-corp?"

Alex and Lena share a worried look, and Kara releases the Luthor's hands as she moves to sit on one of the couches in the office.

"Kara are you alright?" Her sister asks and pulls her into a tight hug.

The blonde ignores the question and lowers her voice slightly, "How long have I been away?" she mumbles into her sister's shoulder.

Alex releases her from the hug, but keeps her hands on both of her arms, almost as if she knows that what she is going to say next is going to send the blonde's mind reeling.

"Well, Lena called me early last night when you didn't come home from work. She said you guys had plans, and so I got scared because you never just don't show up without saying something."

Kara nods in understanding, although half of her mind is still trying to comprehend what _"Lena called me early last night when you didn't come home from work"_ , means.

"We'd both called your phone all evening, until James found it at your desk. We stayed up all night, alternating between being here or at your place." A theory that's rapidly taking Kara's breath away is starting to make more and more sense. When Alex says "your place", does she mean "your" as in Kara's, or "your" as in Kara and a certain someone else's?

"So I've only been gone from yesterday evening till now?" The blonde asks, thinking that that's not really too bad.

It's clearly the wrong thing to say she realizes, as her sister's eyes narrow and she snaps out "Yeah, we've _only_ been thinking you were dead for nineteen hours, no biggie!"

Kara's about to apologize, when Lena, who she hadn't even seen get up from the couch, asks her what the hell kind of pants she's wearing.

The question noticeably lightens up Alex' mood, and the redhead pinches Kara's tights between her fingers curiously. Her sister's reaction has just about confirmed her suspicions, and so the superhero asks a question she knows will change everything.

"Alex, do you know where my glasses are?"

Her sister doesn't actually say anything, she just gives her a confused look that sends Kara's heart plummeting. She gets her answer to more than one question from Lena, who grabs her right hand in both of hers and says;

"Honey, what glasses?"

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 **AN:** Hoped you liked it! This story is also published on AO3, under the same name.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Hey guys, I've never updated a story this quickly before, and honestly I think it's all because of your support and wonderful comments. So thank you so much for that! :D

I'd be very happy to hear what you think about this chapter, I also love reading your theories :)

* * *

Kara was certain of two things, well three things if she counted how very aware she was of Lena Luthor's hand that was resting on the small of her back.

1\. When she left Barry and the rest of Earth-1 by stepping through the portal, she did in fact not return to her own universe. Instead she had travelled to another Earth, which she immediately named Earth-X. So far Earth-X seemed very much like Earth-38 – so much that she had initially been fooled into thinking that it was her universe. The obvious difference between this Earth and her own could so far be pinned down to the hand that was now gently going up and down her back, which brought her to…

2\. Judging from how Lena had acted towards her, as well as how Alex wasn't completely freaking out about how touchy-feely the Luthor was, this Earth's Kara and Lena were obviously a thing. In fact her sister and Lena seemed the best of friends.

The two of them were actually talking together, while the blonde had tried to make sense of her predicament. Having been lost in her own little panic attack, Kara only hears the end of Alex and Lena's conversation, "-ink you should get some sleep. Besides, I need to call Eliza and tell her she's alright." A wave of guilt hits Kara as she imagines her adoptive mother believing her to be missing, even though it's technically not her adoptive mother, but instead the adoptive mother of Kara from Earth-X. Rao, this was confusing.

Alex pulls the dark-haired woman into a hug and Kara finds that this is something she likes; her Alex was usually always so busy telling the blonde how she should be suspicious and wary around the Luthor, which is why the obvious friendship in front of her, makes the superhero so happy.

Alex hugs her next, telling her to take it easy and to never do something like that ever again. Her sister is nearly out the door when Kara asks whether or not she has her phone.

"Oh, I have it." Lena says and starts digging through her purse. Of course. While the other woman is busy, the superhero finds herself looking at the mouth, more specifically the lips that were on hers, less than five minutes ago. Rao, the memory sends her heart speeding, along with the thought of how she, back on Earth-38, had actually wondered what it would be like to kiss the Luthor.

A grey phone is placed in her hand and Kara smiles, because it's actually the same phone she has back in her own universe. Then Lena links her arm with Kara's and the superhero is back to feeling like her brain has been fried.

Lena leads the two of them past the office cubicles, and Kara feels really conscious about her lack of disguise, and she wonders what this Earth's Kara does to keep her identity hidden. While waiting for the elevator to take them to Rao knows where, she spots Winn and Alex talking together by his table. Winn catches her eye and sends a smile and a thumbs up her way. When he turns towards Alex, Kara uses her super hearing to hear what he says.

"What the hell is she wearing?" Winn asks, clearly trying not to laugh too loud.

She doesn't hear what her sister says, because she can't stop thinking about what it means when the person who literally designed her Supergirl outfit, doesn't recognize it.

Without her having realized it, Lena had led the two of them into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. The superhero puts her hands in the hoodie's pockets, where they close around the phone. Curious, Kara touches one of the buttons on the side and watches as the screen lights up.

She has nine missed calls from someone named "Babe 3", five missed calls from Alex, and a couple from Eliza. There are a bunch of texts as well, but Kara doesn't pay much attention to any of those once she sees the picture of her locked screen. It's a snapshot of this Earth's Kara and Lena, clearly outside judging from the trees in the background. The blonde is smiling at something to the right of the camera, and pressed closely against her is the dark-haired woman, in the middle of delivering a kiss to the other woman's cheek.

A blush spreads across Kara's cheeks, and she hurriedly puts back the phone and lets her arms hang uselessly by her side, hoping that will help dry her increasingly sweaty palms. Okay, she thinks, I just need to find a place where I can be alone, and then I'll use the interdimensional device to go back to Barry's Earth, where he will hopefully be able to send me back to my own universe. Yes, as soon as Lena left her alone she would get out of there before she could make any more trouble.

She jumps when something touches her hand and looks down to where Lena is reaching out for her. "Oh." She says, laughing nervously, and lets the other woman grab her right hand. She can feel Lena's gaze on her and imagines how she's seconds away from asking if she's okay, again. Playing the part, Kara tightens her grip on the Luthor's hand which seems to keep the question of her wellbeing at bay.

When they reach their destination, the superhero allows the CEO to lead them outside the building and towards a black car, where a man in a dark uniform holds the door open for the both of them.

"Home, please." Lena says after they're both settled in their seats.

"Yes miss Luthor." The driver confirms and starts the car.

Although she intends to leave this Earth as soon as she can, Kara's still slightly curious to know where and how the two of them live. They don't drive for long and when they get out of the car, the two of them are standing in front of a building that's only slightly smaller than Catco tower. In the elevator, Kara's not surprised to see Lena pressing the button for the penthouse.

When they make it to the top, the blonde accidentally gets out first, turns to the right and makes it a couple of steps until she realizes she doesn't have the faintest idea where she's going. "Um Kara? We live this way." Lena says and motions for the door at the end of the hallway to the left.

"Phfft, I know that!" Kara lies, wincing at how the other woman starts looking increasingly more and more worried.

With the swipe of a keycard Lena unlocks the front door and the Kryptonian follows her inside, closing the door softly behind them. Her eyes widen almost comically as she takes in the inside of their "home".

The apartment is spacious and about half of the walls are out of glass which lights the rooms up nicely. There are a lot of modern and probably very expensive furniture, that Kara guesses are clearly part of Lena's style. However, she's surprised to see her own style in the room as well; it is there in the presence of pillows in warm colours, shelves overflowing with books, cute unnecessary figurines and a lot of photo frames.

Her eyes move quickly over the pictures, but she tells herself that she'll be back in her own universe as soon as possible, so it won't matter what's in the frames. It's not her life and she's starting to feel more and more like a fraud; an intruder.

"If you're hungry there's food left from yesterday in the fridge." Lena says and Kara turns around to find the other woman looking at her.

The blonde nods "Okay." And then they're back to looking at each other. Quite by accident Kara's gaze lands on the dark-haired woman's lips, remembering how they were both soft and urgent as they had pressed against hers earlier. Lena clears her throat quietly, "I'm gonna take a nap. Umm, I wanna talk about where you've been all night though, but I can barely keep my eyes open."

Kara nods, "That's a good idea." Then I can sneak out and return home, she thinks.

But then the CEO holds out her hand and the blonde realizes that she intends for Kara to join her. In the bedroom, on the bed. The thought sends her heart racing and starts what feels like a fire burning through her veins.

She follows her into the room where a huge bed sits, looking so inviting that Kara let's herself fall onto it, finally noticing how exhausted this whole ordeal has made her. Lena lays down besides her, still in all her clothes for which Kara is grateful for, because she doesn't know how much more of this alternative universe she can take. The Luthor makes herself comfortable under the covers, while the superhero lies completely stiff on top of the duvet. Less than a minute later, Kara hears Lena's breathing slow and even. And because she'll never get another chance, Kara turns around slowly until she is face to face with the other woman.

Lena is beautiful. It's not something Kara has just discovered - she's always known that. But while laying there looking at the sleeping woman next to her, she notices a subtle difference between this Lena and the Lena from Earth-38; she looks unguarded and... happy. Like she isn't suffocating under the weight of the hate that her last name brings. There are dark circles under her eyes, but the blonde chalks that down to her staying up all night not knowing where her... Kara, was.

She thinks that this isn't the worst universe she could have ended up in - ending up in a world where dogs didn't exist would have been horrible. But the thought that there is a world where she and Lena are together, actually makes her kind of happy.

Giving the other woman a last look, she leaves the room and uses one of the many windows as an exit. She lands on top of the building and gazes out on the city around her. L-corp, or Luthorcorp, as it's apparently called here, is only a couple of blocks away. And from where she stands, she can see an amazing view of the harbor as well as a nearby park. She pulls out the device from Cisco that will hopefully bring her home, or at least back to Earth-1.

She takes a moment to think about the world she's leaving behind and wonders what will happen once Lena wakes up just to realize that she's gone again. The thought stings and she hopes that wherever this Earth's Kara is, she will return as soon as she herself does.

Taking a deep breath, she prepares herself for the uncomfortable feeling of interdimensional travel, and then presses the button.

 **Nothing happens.**

She presses it again, as far down as it will go thinking that maybe she hadn't really pressed it right the first time.

 **Again, nothing happens.**

Feeling an oncoming wave of panic, she squeezes the device several times as well as the other buttons - the ones Barry had said were for communication, but absolutely nothing happens. The thing is dead. A cry of frustration tears itself out of her throat and she fights the impulse to throw the thing off the building and into the streets below.

Tears make their way down her cheeks as she realizes she's stuck, trapped in this alternative universe, with people she knows but who aren't really quite the same. It was fun to imagine what this world was like and what made it different from hers. But that was while she still thought she could actually get back home; now the idea of spending even a minute more on this Earth gives her a headache.

Half an hour later, after she's all cried out, she starts coming up with a plan. Alex, her Alex that is, the one back on Earth-38, is bound to begin wondering when she'll return from helping Barry, and would perhaps find a way to contact him. Once they'd realize that Kara wasn't on Earth-1 or 38, they would start looking for her, hopefully.

It was what would happen, the only problem was time. How long until Alex would begin to suspect that something was wrong?

She glares at the device in her hand, and wonders if she can do anything to speed up her "rescue". Perhaps if she could fix it so that it might be able to produce a portal, or at the very least get the communication part of it up and running again. Hmm, Winn was still a nerd in this world she supposes, so he might have an idea what to do about it - she'd just have to come up with a believable lie.

Until she was back on Earth-38, she'd have to play along and pretend that she really was this Earth's Kara.

* * *

Moments later, she's back in the apartment and a quick scan shows her that Lena is still sleeping.

If she was going to fit into this earth and convincingly pass the role as Earth-X's Kara, she needed to do some research. She started in the hallway, sifting through jackets and purses. A cream colored jacket that looked incredibly like one she had at home, had to be hers, and in it she found keys, a keycard that matched the one Lena had used to unlock the apartment with, as well as some empty candy wrappers.

There were two hand bags hanging next to the door; a sleek black one and a dark brown one that looked like it had held together for far longer than it should have had. Kara sat down on the floor and poured the contents of the raggedy bag onto the tiled floor.

Inside it she finds a whole lot of papers from work, most of them different approaches to articles. There's also an empty water bottle with a label on it that says 'Luthorcorp', as well as a Catco employment card, that momentarily stops her search because the name on it isn't Kara Danvers, but Kara Zor-El. Blinking in confusion, and not really ready to think about why on earth the Kara of this earth had chosen to use her Kryptonian name, she throws the card back into the bag and pulls out the phone.

She does not know the password for it, but luckily the fingerprint scanner works and she's thrown into a whirlwind of information that leaves her head spinning. The background picture, looks almost uncannily like the background of the locked screen and almost all of the pictures on the phone is of Kara and Lena. There are pictures of the two of them in front of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and even the Colosseum, and the blonde can't help but smile at the thought of her and Lena doing something so normal, like going on vacation.

She reads through the text as well, all the ones she'd received while she was "missing", and quickly finds out that 'Babe 3' is what Lena is named as on the phone. The texts range from 'I thought you were getting off early?' to 'Kara, please call me back!', and suddenly the superhero wonders what happened to this Earth's Kara.

Is she in this universe or did she somehow get sent to another when Kara arrived? Maybe two versions of the same person can't exist in the same world? Or maybe she's actually missing like Alex and Lena had thought. Kara swallows, maybe she was even... dead?

She doesn't read the worried texts from her sister, instead she goes through the contacts. Most of them she recognizes, but there are a couple she doesn't; like an Emily who she has no idea who is. There's also a contact named 'Clark', and Kara wonders who's on the other side of that number. At the same time, she also notices the numbers that aren't in her contacts; neither J'onn or the contact information for the DEO are on the list.

The sound of the bathroom door opening and closing alerts Kara to the fact that Lena is awake, and she quickly shoves everything back into the bag, and plops down on the couch in the living room.

"Are you hungry?" Lena asks when she enters the room, and despite her rather hopeless situation, the superhero's mood lightens up a little at the mention of food. "There's still, well everything left from yesterday, seeing as we never ate any of it." Her eyes flicker briefly to the dining table, that is very nicely set; the evidence of their ruined plans from the night before.

It's as if the nap has given her an energy boost and Kara is reminded of her Lena Luthor, the one who defended herself against Clark's accusations, as she stands glaring at her with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Lena, I'm really sorry." She replies, hoping the other woman won't ask too many questions, so that the blonde's carefully constructed and very fragile lie, won't fall apart.

"Where were you all night?" The CEO demands.

"Umm, you know one of my friends, or actually, you don't know him. His name is Barry." Kara spouts off, and Lena's eyes visibly narrow in front of her. "He's also a reporter!" She adds, feeling like the worst liar on this Earth as well as her own.

"So?" Lena prompts and sits next to the blonde, pulling her legs up against her chest.

"Well he needed help, with a problem." Which technically wasn't a complete lie. "Plus, he lives really far away, which is why I was gone for so long." She looks away from the Luthor, it's much easier to lie when she isn't looking her in the eye.

"And this, Barry... He doesn't have a phone?"

Shit, "No, no he doesn't! Umm, he's like against that. Believes they're a waste of time, yeah..." Kara trails off, readying herself for when the other woman calls out her bullshit. But Lena doesn't say anything, and after a minute of silence the blonde looks up at the Luthor, and immediately feels bad.

"Lena" She says softly and moves closer to the dark-haired woman, whose face is hidden behind her hands. Back on her own Earth, she'd comforted the Luthor many times before with words of encouragement, but somehow she thinks that won't really be enough in this situation.

"Come here."

Lena looks through her fingers, and as soon as she sees Kara's open arms she's quickly moving and launches herself at the blonde who hugs her tightly.

"I'm really sorry." The superhero mutters into dark hair, because even though she wasn't really the one who was missing, she still feels bad about... all of it.

The Luthor takes a shaky breath as if she's trying not to cry, before saying, "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay." She promises. The lie leaves a bad taste in her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Sooo, I'm a little afraid that I'm going to let you guys down... So, for those of you who have been asking about the Earth-X Kara, I'm sorry but she will not be a part of this story, and in fact if you guys read this chapter closely, you will very discreetly discover her fate. I'm sorry. Don't kill me 3

* * *

She could not remember a time her mind and body had ever been as exhausted as now. Physically, she was yearning to sleep, but her thoughts kept elevating her heartbeat which meant she was never even remotely close to falling asleep. Forcing her eyes away from where they were fixed to the ceiling, Kara turned her head and looked at the clock that was perched on the bedside table.

 **02.38**

 _Great_ , she thought, _you've been laying here for nearly four hours then_ _._ She considered getting up and doing something else, but the arm that was slung across her stomach prevented her from doing so. Turning her head slowly, she almost came face to face with Lena. _Ahh yes, another reason for her lack of sleep._

It was hard for her to wrap her mind around the idea of the two of them being together, not because it repelled her or felt weird, but more because she hadn't yet come to terms with her feelings back on Earth-38. _And there were definitely feelings._ Feelings she'd pretty much been confronted with ever since she ended up in this alternative universe. It was for sure something she'd have to think more about in the coming days, but the most pressing issue was one that was much more terrible than pleasant.

It had occurred after Kara and Lena's "fight", the one that had ended with the worst told lie in history. The dark haired woman had left to go warm up some food for dinner, while Kara had stayed seated on the couch. Absentmindedly she had turned on the TV, but her ears were focused on the sounds that made their way out of the kitchen; one of which was Lena humming the upbeat melody of a familiar song. The introductory sound of a News segment coming on, distracted the superhero from finding out exactly what song the Luthor was humming along to.

"Well Mike, I've got something really interesting for you, as well as the citizens of National City. It may look like something from a science fiction movie, but we have been sent these videos all day long from citizens who were on the scene. Take a look at this."

Kara turned her eyes to the screen out of curiosity and froze.

A surveillance video of her flying into a store, neutralizing an armed robber and then waving at the crowd before flying away again, was playing on the screen, quickly followed by shaky videos from several different angles that were obviously taken with someone's phone. "If you're wondering whether or not you are hallucinating, I can assure you that these _are_ _the videos of a seemingly flying woman, stopping the robbery of a store in downtown National City."_

A sense of dread washed over Kara as the realization of what was being said, meant. "These videos have been the topic of much discussion on the internet all day, all from people claiming that it's fake, to people saying it's the real deal. One person commented "The movements seems way too stiff, it has clearly been edited." Another person replied saying "I was there, I saw her fly away. It really happened." You can watch all these videos again on our website, and judge for yourself whether or…"

Lena poked her head around the doorway, saying dinner would be ready in ten minutes and Kara hurriedly switched channels, afraid that the other woman would recognize her on the screen.

"Sounds good!" The blonde said, wincing at how high her voice sounded.

The Luthor frowned, "Are you okay?" She asked and entered the room.

"Uh huh, I'm good."

"Oh, that's only a couple of blocks away." Lena stated, her eyes fixed on the TV.

Kara followed the dark haired woman's gaze to the screen, where a headline stated "Body of a young woman found".

When she was once again alone in the room, she looked up an article that talked about how it might have been a PR stunt from an upcoming movie, but that none of the studios had claimed ownership of what had happened. Both the article and what she had just seen, confirmed that the Kara of this Earth had never become Supergirl. And judging from people's reluctance to believe the videos were real and hadn't been tampered with, it seemed that her cousin, Clark, had never donned the red cape in this world as well.

* * *

She woke up to Lena gently shaking her awake at 7.30. "Kara, I called James and said you weren't feeling well, I could feel you turning in bed all night long so I know you haven't slept much." She explained and set a cup of hot chocolate on the bedside table next to the blonde. "He said it's fine and that he won't be expecting you until Monday, okay?"

The superhero nodded gratefully and then promptly felt her cheeks light up as the other women leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "I put some buns in the oven, don't let them burn."

"I won't. Have a great day!" Kara called out as Lena left the room. Seconds later the front door closed and the apartment was enveloped in silence.

She stayed in the bed for as long as she could, until the smell of perfectly baked bread reached her nose and drew her out of the comfy duvets and blankets. She ate her breakfast in a cute looking armchair overlooking the park below, while feeling oddly at home. But sitting alone in the apartment ended up making her restless, until all she did was make up even more questions she had no answers to.

A fieldtrip, she decided, was just what she needed.

Using public transport to avoid being in any more News segments, she took a bus to her apartment building, or the one she lived in on Earth-38 anyway, and discovered that she was very clearly not living in it anymore, as someone else's name was on the door. And when she used her supervision to sneak a peak, she found a man and a woman inside it.

Next, she sent a text to Alex, who quickly wrote back that she was home and that Kara was welcome to drop by. She was moving towards her sister's place before she had even given thought to whether or not her sister lived somewhere different as well, or if she was living in the same apartment as the Alex from Earth-38. When she ended up in front of the door that looked exactly like the one back on her own Earth, she was happy to see the sign next to the door saying _A. Danvers._ _Suddenly feeling nervous, she gave herself a minute to prepare to meet the Alex that wasn't really_ _her_ _sister, before she finally knocked on the door._

A couple of seconds went by before the door was opened wide by a woman with shoulder length hair and a heart shaped face, whom Kara had never seen before, which immediately made her second-guess if this even _was_ _Alex' apartment._

"Kara!" the woman exclaimed, her voice warm and her smile welcoming. Even so, the blonde unconsciously took a step back in surprise. The unknown woman didn't seem to notice the confused look on the superhero's face as she pulled the younger woman into a hug. Kara stiffened in the embrace and couldn't help thinking about the day before where Lena had unexpectedly hugged (and kissed) her. Somehow there was a difference though; Lena wasn't a stranger, but a friend. This woman however, _was_ _a stranger and Kara immediately felt uncomfortable._

Perhaps the mysterious woman noticed, because she released the blonde and gave her a funny look that jerked Kara into remembering that she had to act as this worlds Kara, who apparently knew this woman. The appearance of her sister saved her from the awkward moment and she gladly let Alex draw her into a tight hug. "Didn't feel up for going to work today?" The redhead asked, giving the superhero a teasing smile as she released her.

"Lena texted me." Alex explained when she saw Kara's confused expression.

"Ahh, you guys text a lot?"

"Hah!" The mystery woman exclaimed, "If I didn't know all those texts were about you, I'd be jealous."

"Emily!" Alex whined, the top of her cheeks turning pink.

The name brought back a memory from the day before, and Kara ttought this must be the woman whose name was listed under her contacts.

"Honey, I'm gonna head out." Emily said and gave Alex a quick peck on the lips, "Have fun you two, and don't disappear overnight." The last part was obviously aimed at Kara, and the superhero gave the retreating woman a quick smile and a wave. As soon as the door closed however, a question that Kara was aching to ask rushed out of her mouth.

"Where's Maggie?"

A funny look spread across Alex' face "Who's Maggie?"

Something broke inside Kara.

"Do you, do you talk to J'onn? Do you have his number? I checked, but I haven't got it and I really need to see him. To talk to him." She could have kept going if her sister hadn't grabbed her hands and turned her attention back on her.

"John? Kara what are you talking about?"

"The DEO?"

"The what? Kara are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath and trying not to freak out, the blonde continued, "The Department of Extra-Normal Operations? Where you work?"

Alex hesitated, "Kara, you know I work for the FBI."

Feeling like she was in an ever spinning tornado, the superhero rested her hands on her thighs and counted to ten in her head. "I'm sorry," Kara said abruptly and straightened her back again "I have to go."

"Are you okay?" Her sister asked, sounding both worried and confused. "I'm fine!" The blonde hissed, immediately feeling bad. "Just, don't talk to Lena about this, okay? I don't want any of you to worry, there's absolutely nothing to be worried about. Okay?"

Alex nodded her head softly and Kara quickly left the apartment, leaving her sister's arms hanging as they reached out to hug her.

* * *

After unlocking the door to the penthouse suite, she was relieved to discover that Lena wasn't home yet. Not that she'd really thought she would be; as a CEO she probably worked late every day. Kara remembered how the Lena of Earth-38, was often in her office until it was almost midnight. Not that she was keeping tabs on the Luthor or anything... That would be creepy...

She took the device she had hidden under her mattress the night before and let herself fall back on the nicely made bed. Perhaps she could try to fix it on her own, she thought and looked the little thing and all its' buttons over. She was scared however, of messing it up even more than it already was, and maybe sending herself to another universe - one that wasn't as surprisingly pleasant as this one.

Although she couldn't get over how Alex wasn't with Maggie in this universe. At least she was actually out, and Emily seemed nice enough, it was just weird to discover that the redhead didn't even know who the tiny police detective was.

Letting the device fall onto the bedding beside her, she looked at the painting on the walls across the bed. It was an abstract painting in green, blue and yellow colours, one that Lena had obviously bought. She had good taste, Kara decided.

Her eyes sunk to the dresser below, where several picture frames were sitting. Ones she hadn't yet seen.

Sitting up with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed, she reached over and grabbed the closest frame. It was a picture of she and Lena, with their back towards the camera looking over a beautiful scenery. Gosh, she thought, the two of them really liked to travel. She put it back in its' place and grabbed the one beside it. Her eyes widening when she realized just exactly who were in the photo.

Lena was in the middle of two people, one of whom was Kara. To her left however, was a man. Noticeably a couple of years older than the two of them, but still young and good-looking. She did not recognize him at first, maybe because of his fashionably styled brown hair. Or perhaps it was because they were all smiling at the camera, as if everything was as it should be.

Never the less, it was clearly Lex Luthor who was standing with his arm wrapped around his sister's shoulder, with a twinkle in his eyes. The idea that she, a version of her anyway, could even exist in the same picture as Lex Luthor, a man who had gone insane and tried to kill her cousin, was surreal. The picture looked recent too and she wondered what they had been doing - they were all dressed nicely but casual , looking so comfortable together it made Kara feel uncomfortable.

Rao, she thought, was this what Lex would have ended up as, if Clark had never become superman? A nice looked young man, with family and friends? The idea that he would have had a happy and normal life if it weren't for her cousin, left her with a bitter taste on her mouth, and she forcefully put the picture back on the dresser, knocking another frame to the ground in the process.

She picked it up gingerly, hoping the glass hadn't broken in the fall. The picture frame nearly slipped out of her fingers, when she saw the smiling faces of the people whose existence was permanently caught in the snapshot. She sucked in a quick breath feeling both surprised and confused. She had never had a picture of her parents before, and without counting the astral projection of her mother at the DEO, it had been more than 14 years since she had last seen them. Still, she recognized the two of them immediately.

A whole minute went by before she realized she was in the picture as well. Albeit a much younger version of herself. She looked perhaps thirteen years old, Kara thought, exactly like when she left Krypton.

What was going on? How could a picture of her parents have been taken on Earth? They had never been on the planet before, had never seen the civilization they had sent their daughter to. And yet the picture showed the three of them sitting on the steps that led to a porch, on either side of them were towers of cardboard boxes and in the background Kara spotted a van, clearly belonging to a moving company.

She felt dizzy, how could she be looking at a picture of her parents, clearly taken on Earth? They had never been... Unless.

Holding the frame tightly in her left hand, she fished her phone out of her pocket and hurriedly went through her contacts again. There were no one called 'mom' or 'dad' in her phonebook, and for a second she felt silly for even thinking that could have been a possibility.

Then a tiny thought made its' way to her mind, one that seemed more and more possible given all the evidence she had seen of the world she was currently a part of. No one had seen someone fly before; half of the people who had left comments on the video of her were saying it was fake. And when she had googled superman, nothing came up. Neither she, nor Clark had ever become superheroes in this universe. And then there was Lena, who during their dinner the night before had given Kara a knife that was less sharp than the one she had originally chosen, reminding her of how she had cut her hand the week before, which would be impossible - nothing except kryptonite could hurt the kryptonian. So perhaps...

Kara swallowed loudly. Perhaps the Kara of Earth-X, wasn't a kryptonian at all.

* * *

Two hours later, when Lena came home, she found Kara sitting on the bed staring blankly at one of the picture frames from their dresser. The Luthor quickly looked at the calendar on her phone, when she noticed exactly which picture had her girlfriend all spaced out, but there were more than two months before the date that marked the anniversary of the accident.

Kara did not look at her when she sat down, but when she reached for her hand, the blonde jumped in surprise. "Oh." She said, finally noticing the other woman. Lena brought the hand she was holding to her lips, and kissed it softly, "Hey."

The action brought heat to Kara's cheeks and she let the Luthor lace their fingers together.

"Hey." She replied, her voice much scratchier than she'd expected, but not surprising considering how she had cried in frustration and confusion for the last couple of hours. She tried to smile, but it felt awkward as she could feel all the tears that had dried on her cheeks.

Lena motioned to the picture that was still clutched tightly in her other hand, "Are you okay?"

"Umm." Kara mumbled, not sure what to say. There were questions she wanted answers to, but she couldn't ask them without revealing that something was wrong; that she wasn't the person Lena lived with and loved. But if nothing incredible and unbelievable ever happened in this world, how could she ever tell her who she really was, without making her think she was crazy?

"Lena," She started, her eyes still fixed on her mother and father's smiling faces, "without questioning my sanity, could you please tell me everything I've told you about this picture?"

She felt the other woman's confusion, and was about to immediately take back what she had just said, when the dark haired woman's hand tightened around her own and Lena started talking. "Well, you told me about how the three of you moved from Bakersfield to National City, and that this picture was taken the very day you guys moved into your house in the suburbs."

Kara listened carefully, clinging to every word, amazed at the reality she could have lived in, the life she could have had.

"You said that the van carrying your beds didn't arrive until the day after, and that your mom and dad took turns sleeping with you on the couch that night." The corner's of the blonde's mouth turned up, while tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"It was the last picture of the two of them," Lena said softly, moving her thumb softly across the back of Kara's hand, "you told me the four of them died a week later, the fourteenth of September 2003."

2003, the blonde thought, that meant they would have died when Earth-X Kara was thirteen years old, the same age she was when she lost her parents in the destruction of Krypton. Even in this universe she was destined to become an orphan it seemed. But wait... "The four of them?" Kara asked, suddenly thinking about the other thing Lena had said.

"Yeah?" Lena replied sounding slightly insecure, and the superhero briefly wondered if she thought she was partaking a test. "Your parents and Clark's?"

Kara's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her cousin and the realization that both their parents had died on the same day. "Oh yeah." She said, feigning knowing exactly what the other woman was talking about, meanwhile more questions were piling up in the back of her mind; how had they died? What had happened to Clark and where was he?

"...see them?"

Kara let the questions go, and looked at Lena, "I'm sorry what?"

The Luthor gave her a concerned smile, "I said, if you'd like we could go visit their graves? The cemetery doesn't close until seven, if we hurry we could be there in ten minutes."

Kara felt a fondness for Lena and her concern well up inside of her, and she found herself squeezing back the hand holding her own in gratefulness. "It's okay, but maybe tomorrow?" She inquired feeling curious about the idea of actually having a place to grieve the loss of her family.

"Sure." Lena nodded and gave her a soft smile.

* * *

 **AN:** I'll be having an exam in ten days that I'll be studying for, but after the nineteenth I have some days off, so you should expect a new chapter then :)


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